Happy New Year

As 2006 comes to an end and 2007 begins I want to wish all my friends here on Mavericks all the best in the coming year.

Happy Aniversary

28 years ago today with "nothing better to do" John and I drove over to Yuma, AZ and got married. When he told his shipmates what we had done the first comment was "What are you going to do when she gets older" and John's comment back was "Well, I guess I'll get older too" You see, I'm 12 years older than he is and I guess they thought as I turned into this doddering old lady he would stay young forever. Over the years we've had our ups and down, fights and makeups, laughter and tears. We've traveled from the Pacific Ocean to the Alantic and back as "Home was where the Navy sent us".

John's long since retired from the Navy and on a second career as a Merchant Seaman. We now make our home here amongst the towering pines of WA. We've been here 15 years, the longest we've spent in the same home and every once in awhile we get that wanderlust wanting to pick up and move. We never get to the let's just do it, the sun comes out after long rainy winters and we decide right here is where we want to be.

Happy Aniversary John, I'm looking forward to many more.

Gratitudes

The day I heard this slow talking Southerner and picked him up off a bar stool.

For asking me to come to San Diego when his ship left Portland.

All the different places John's taken me over the years.

The many spur of the moment road trips we shared.

For having always made sure I had a roof over my head and enough to eat.

For his loving ways and being who he is, my dear husband

Metamorphosis

Like a butterfly emerging from it's cocoon, the raffle quilt of last year has gone from an ugly duckling to a swan. After being held hostage until one week before our picnic it was returned with the applique border completed.





Before










After





Changes were made, new borders were added and new backing purchased as we'd frantically put together a quilt to raffle using the Flying Dutchman blocks which no longer complimented the center section, the backing and batting lest we disappoint our family not having a quilt to raffle.


Last year for the Shop Hop one of the fabrics was a beautiful print of Washington State places which we chose for the backing. As there was a limited amount of yardage available we had to put in a special order and wait until mid September for more to arrive at our favorite LQS. It was well worth the wait.











With the start of Football season I determined this would be my football project and by Super Bowl Sunday the quilting would be done. I've quilted the sky background with small baptist fans (at least that's what I call them) using blue varigated thread. Outlined the appliqued with a variagated green to tan. I left the windmill for last and hope something comes to mind to make it look like what it's supposed to be. The yellow is a tulip print (how Dutch can we get) and the darkest border a deep green. Baptist Fans will compliment these borders. I hated this quilt last year. This year I'm enjoying quilting it.

Yesterday I gathered up all my Christmas fabric and headed out to my sisters. She wanted to do something to decorate the plywood covering the window she lost and was going to go and purchase a bunch of Xmas fabric to do so. Wait a minute here, I've got a drawer full of the stuff just sitting around, lets see what we can do. We pawed through the stash and found a couple pieces big enough to cover the 5' middle section, stitched it up and then headed out to get some canned snow and clingys. 4 stores later purchased the last can alive, decorated the two small side windows still containing some glass, hung her Christmas stockings and now she has a lovely decorated wall where once was ugly plywood. While there we called another sister to see how she and her family had survived the most recent storm that blew through Seattle. Nothing drastic other than no power for the past three days.

Carol....forced quality time sounds like an Oxymoran to me. Sometimes I'd like to do the same thing just to force DH to get away from the TV and "talk to me".

Joanne...found a couple skirts and blouses that are very little girlish. It's those fancy dresses that are so streetwalker looking.

Blogger hasn't been letting me post comments, wonder if it has to do with the updated Beta.

Gratitudes

Both my Sisters survived the two recent storms without injuries

Spending a fun day with my sister Marcia

Being there for my youngest son during a sad time for him when his father passed away suddenly

A sweet call from John today who got his requested day off and will have a 4 day wkend

Yesterday in the middle of the afternoon just as my friend was leaving to dash back across the street the lights blinked then went out. A power outage, the first of the year for us. Shortly after her DH rang the doorbell letting us know the power would be off for some time and he wanted my friend to stay with me until he got home. He's very considerate in that way and keeps an eye on me when John is gone. We built a fire in the fireplace, filled the thermos with the coffee I had just made and settled in to waite for him to get off work. When I tried to phone the Electric Company to report the outage my portable phones were dead as well, nor would my cell phone work. Fortunately for me, John hates those portable phones so we have an old fashioned one in the garage which did work.

Later that evening my sister called to tell me they were having 70 mph wind gusts out where they live on the bay. As she was sitting in her living room she looked up and watched her picnic table go airborne straight into the big plate glass window. She had just enough time to grab her grandson, cover his face and duck her head when the glass started flying.

It was a long, dark night as I sat wrapped up in a quilt, candles for light, a flashlight to read by and the Bears game on the radio. By midnight the power was still out so I threw another log on the fire snuggled down, watching the fire and before I knew it was sound asleep. I came awake with a start when the furnace kicked in and the lights came back on at 2 am.

Today my friend and I commented on how quiet our homes were and wondered aloud why we didn't do this more often. A fire, good company and good conversation.

Every year for the past 5 years since my GGD was born I have always sent her a Christmas Dress. This is the first year I've not been able to find something suitable for her and it disappoints me. At 51/2 she's too old for the little girls department and to young for the bigger girls department. I wonder at the buyers . The clothes are way to old for such a little girl and do they dress their own little girls like teenages? Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy and want to keep her a baby forever.

Motivation or.....

lack of. I've been so unmotivated to sew this past month that all I've accomplished is a lot of wishful thinking and Leaf Seasons top.



Sunday I sat and hand quilted the day away while watching football games. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked as Roscoe decided the quilt on my lap would be such a lovely place to be. He's not much of a lap cat and the only time he ever comes for attention is when I have a throw quilt covering me up or am working on a quilt.





Saturday my friend and I escaped from home for the first time in over a week. We've had lots of snow up here and it's not melting fast enough for us. I had called my sister to see how the roads were out in the county and when she said they were clear with dry pavement we bundled up and off we went. Getting out of our community here on the side of the mountain took 4WD but when we got to the main road all was clear just as my sister had said. We did all the errands we hadn't been able to all week and made our last stop at Walmart. The parking lot was full, the store was packed. I swear everybody in town was out shopping. By the time we left Walmart it was already getting dusk. By now, really wanting to be home we decided to take the shorter back road, go in the gate closest to home and not have to navigate the hills in the dark. What a mistake this turned out to be. As we crested the first hill from the main road bare dry pavement turned to rutted packed ice/snow and a road that hadn't been plowed for the past week. We started slipping/sliding down the other side of the hill, my friend hanging on for dear life and me wishing I had gone the long route. I manage a free hand, hit the 4WD button and kicked it on which immediately or so it seemed stopped the slide. We still had another 5+miles before our gate and crept along at a very sedate 15mph. I have to admit, I was scared driving that road in the pitch black dark. When we finally arrived home, her DH had that "deer in front of a peterbuilt" look worried to death something had happened to us.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
North Central
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
The South
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Way to funny, I'm Minnesota born and the only time I've been to Chicago or Wisconsin was a Navy tour with DH.

Winter Wonderland

After all the rain we've had this month the snow is a welcome site for me. It's a beautiful day with the trees looking for all the world as if a giant hand had sprayed them with whipped cream, the snow sparkling as the sun filters through the branches.

We usually don't have snow this early or last this many days here in my part of the world. It snows then is gone the next morning.





I'm not much of a snow person, I don't like being cold but today I dressed up warmly and with camera in hand ventured out into the sunshine. It's such a beautiful day and lifted my spirits after spending so many gloomy gray days stuck inside. I haven't any sewing to show, I've not sewed much at all this month so I thought I'd share my lovely day with my friends.

Leaf Seasons

Leaf Seasons is a top. Yet another UFO in the making waiting to be quilted. Once again, thank you Judy. Sure would like to participate in November's Hour a Day, but have to pass on this one.

It's November and the wettest month here in WA. Once again we are sitting under flood watch and hoping the rivers across the western part of the state will keep to their banks. It's a yearly thing, filling sand bags and shoring up along the rivers. So many roads are closed here due to water on them be it from leaves clogging the drains or just plain too much rain for the ground to absorb.

The Seahawks are getting ready to start their game so must go find some handiwork and settle in.

Gratitudes

A safe trip back to Portland last night for DH in this pouring down rain.

A surprize call from my friend of 30 years who had moved since I last visited.

Finally getting Lady's insulin regulated.

Being warm, dry and still having power during this rain/wind storm we're having

In an Hour a Day

An hour here, a hour there I will complete this one. I get to spend my whole weekend in the sewing room so should accomplish my goal of actually finishing this October project in October. I may not get it sandwiched and quilted but another top will join the many I have. I'm going to make it just big enough for the studio bed in the music room. It needs something bright and cheerful. Searching through my stash and not finding enough of the same fabric for the setting squares I'm going with what's there is in yellows and browns. My stash is getting pretty darned whittled down and bins are getting empty. The leafs will have to be yet more autumn colors, yellow backgrounds with whatever happens to be in the bins. I like this pattern, it's quick and easy and autumn is my most favorite time of the year.

Speaking of autumn, the trees have turned the most gorgeous colors in the past few days. We've had a bit of a cold snap not that that makes any difference to the changing of the colors. A nice day for a drive along the lake enjoying the colors on the mountains across the water. It seems in the past few years less pines and more leaf trees have sprouted up making the hills a riot of color.

Having a cold, not having much energy has given me time to sit and hand quilt. It's been a comfort to just sit and quilt plus keep me warm while being under the weather. I so enjoy hand quilting but wish I could quilt faster and accomplish more.

A note to Bonnie.. your quiltville site has joined yet another list I am on. The guys and gals there sew on treadle and handcrank machines. While many have electrics they use people power for their daily stitching. They machine quilt, do monograms, applique and all the things we do with our fancy electrics. There's something about peddleing away, the rumble of a treadle that is comforting and reminds us of gramma. Someone has referred them to your site for free patterns. The comment was made how nice it was to have an easy download with directions that you could understand. That makes 3 lists I'm on where your site has been posted. Your free patterns are greatly appreciated by all of us.

Gratitudes

Birthday wishes from my Maverick friends
Feeling better
A nice visit with my sister this morning
The drive along the lake enjoying the autumn leaf colors
Having a weekend alone to spend sewing
A day shopping with my friend Rexene

Winter Colds

I've been down and out with a winter cold and it's not even winter yet. Every year at this time I manage to find myself wrapped up in a quilt, sitting in my recliner watching TV while I suffer through yet another winter cold. How do I know I get them every year at this time? My good friends mother keeps a diary and yes there it is written down, same time last year a COLD.

While not feeling well enough to even get out of my jammies, I drug out that raffle quilt from last year to start the hand quilting process. You all remember the trials and tribulations of the Windmill, the changes, the cousin problem etc. With a few changes, new improvements it's not so bad or ugly and I've even taken a liking to the darned thing. So, over the past week, I've started hand quilting it with a modified baptist fan in the sky behind the windmill giving it some depth and character. The windmill itself is just that, haven't decided how to finish it to make it look like something other than the capsule from the space shuttle. I like these baptist fans, they add a dimension to the pale blue fabric in the sky area.

Called my sister for a chat and discussion of what to do about the next raffle quilt for our family picnic. Might as well start early since we have last years on the front burner for next year and funds to purchase fabric. We've decided on a family huddle of our sisters/mother to decided what to do about "the cousin" who caused so many problems last year. No stitching, just a sister get-to-gether, some hor de over's, discussion with a decision. Course we will toss in ideas of what pattern to do. I'd like to do simple, another log cabin variation and the sisters want something new. I'll toss out my recommendation, something simple and easy for those of us who haven't sewn much. Colors, something subtle as we are so diversified in our choices of colors. Some like bright and cheerful, others are more dark and dreary, other muted pastels. We're a bunch we are, all different personalities. One would think being sisters we would have similiar tastes but we're as differnt as night and day.



I celebrated my birthday last week. I can't believe I'm now closer to 70 than I'll ever be to 60. I remember at 17 thinking 35 was old, decrepit and being ready for a rocking chair. Time sure does fly by fast. Seems one day you're starting kindergarten, then next you're in junior high, graduation from HS, right behind that looking forward to turning 21. Followed fast by marriage, a few kids, their school days, graduations and marriages. Before you know it along come the grandkids and then before you're ever ready up pops that first great grandchild. You've blinked and a whole life has passed by, you've grown from that child, to adult, to seniour citizen and you haven't done all the things you planned with your life. I spent my day being sick, resentfull my DH hadn't even got me a card, instead handing me a wad of cash with a go buy yourself something, feeling forgotten and sorry for myself until my son's called to wish me a Happy Birthday. So I turned 67, just another day in the year for everyone else, but my special day, one I've always looked forward to. Birthdays aren't as fun as they used to be. When I was growing up, my parents made birthdays our own special holidays. The one we could look forward to all year long. It was better than Easter or Christmas because it was ours. I miss the birthdays of my childhood.

Catching Up

It's been awhile since I've posted to my blog. Days were busy getting everything ready for my trip to CA to see my GD married.

Both quilts were finished in time, the car packed and off I headed. Was a wonderful trip. I was able to spend quality time with both my sons, their families and meet GD's girlfriends who all came from other areas to be her bridesmaids.

Arrived on Monday night in plenty of time to attend the wedding rehearsal and dinner. From there we went back to the house and proceeded to play beer pong. Now if you've never played beer pong it's rather interesting. I played but when it came to downing quarter cups of beer I passed them off to the groom as I had to drive myself back to the motel for the night.

Wedding day was warm, blue skies, perfect for an evening ceremony. The setting was lovely, with a gazebo right on the river. My pictures didn't turn out really well as the sun was going down behind the wedding party.

The cake, baked and decorated by my other DIL who's very artistic and talented.

GD Jody and I.

GGD Reese and I. The handsome guy behind us is my son Mike, the brides dad. It never fails when someone takes a picture I always end up with some of the awfullest looks on my face. I hate having my picture taken.

Gratitudes...

Seeing my beautiful GD so happy.

Spending time with both my sons on this trip.

Special gratitude for a good friend and cat sitter who spent my whole trip cleaning up after a sick cat.

Still being young enough to make long car trips alone.

My friend and I went to one of the local groups quilt shows today. Most of the quilts were quilted by machine but this one really caught my eye. I'm not sure how it was quilted as it wasn't in the handquilting we all see but more of an embroidery stitch. The displays were so close together I really couldn't get a full veiw of this beautifully done work. Being a handquilter, I can just imagine the many hours this took to complete.

I was disapointed seeing so many quilts done on the machine, not that machine quilting is a bad thing as I send many of mine out not having the time to handquilt each and every one of them. I miss the beauty of seeing all those tiny stitches so lovingly made. I miss the softness, the cuddly look of them.

SBS is all sandwiched ready to quilt and yes, I'm going to machine quilt her. She's a utility quilt, meant to be loved, used, abused and washed to death if necessary. Not a quilt to hang on the wall or save for the next generation down the line. I want the ones I make for my family to be used not stuffed in a acid free paper and put on a shelf, taken out for show. SewCatherine...yes there are Halloween blocks here.

When I first started quilting, I protected the quilts I made for my family like they were my children. I intiminated my kids to death with all the directions on how to care for and treat the quilts I had given them. I was appalled at my GS's when they made tents, wrapped themself up as they watched TV. Those quilts belonged on their beds, not abused. As I've gotten older in my quilting life, I've realized when I give a quilt, it's no longer mine and what that person does with it is OK. If they want to wash it every week, that's fine, if they want to sit on all those little stitches I put in by hand that's fine too and if they make my little grandkids happy in their tents, that's a good feeling. It's theirs, it no longer belongs to me. Our quilts are like our children, we give them birth, we watch them grow then send them out into the world and hope for the best. When they are tattered and torn we know they have been loved, not abused so we get out our stash and another quilt is born.

I wonder what the women of years past would think of us now. How we make quilts not to keep warm, not because we need bedding, not of pieces we've cut from worn out clothing but from rooms full of fabric we hoard. What would they think of quilts that grace the walls or decorate our tables, not a serviceable, utility quilt to lay under keeping warm.

We still make wedding, graduation, birth, memory, signature and many other quilts. We lovingly place them in protective custody, take them out for display and save them for generations to come. Years from now, they will be found in a closet, carefully wrapped up and saved and for what reason? Quilts are made with love and should be used with love.

Gratitudes

John home for the weekend

Another good movie "Ladies in Lavender" with my GF

A fun day at the quilt show

Indian Summer days

Not finding a present from the Kitties on the floor

It's been a fruitful day here at my house. I dug out all the SBS blocks I recieved way back in '99 when I belonged to a guild and we swapped blocks for birthdays. The ladies put forth great effort, way beyond their comfort zone to make these for me. Few of them appliqued at that time and you can see it in their stitches. Not that I pretend to be the quilt police, I love the effort they all went to for me. Little did I know a GGD was in the future and here it is 5 1/2 years later, her crib quilts no where near big enough for her twin bed. It was time for gramma to get busy. I dug through the stash auditioning fabric, nothing big enough to do all the blocks when I opened a container and before my eyes appeared lots of FQ's just waiting to sash these blocks. It's a hodge-podge of everything from dragon flys, ladybugs, to footprints, kitties, birdhouses and flowers all colors. She'll love it and I won't have to buy thing except the batt.

I started the hour a day a wee bit early. I wanted to get a head start as I will be gone almost a week for GD's wedding.

I made my deadline, the Compass went on the quilting frame today. I chose a couple different varigated threads, gave her an idea of what I wanted and told her I trusted her judgement. Nikki does a beautiful job, I know it will be sensational when she's finished with it. No pictures till it's done, I forgot to take any before I rushed it off to town. I didn't add anything more to it other than squaring off and a couple borders. After ruining fabric, a knick to my finger, another to my thumb, that Quilt looked me in the eye and said "Less is More, enough now already". VBG

Gratitudes

A movie with my good friend

A day sewing

Continued sunny, warm fall days

New LQS

I got to spend the day with my friend running around to all the LQS in our area. We managed to hit 4 of the 5 that are within 30 miles of home. What fun we had even tho' I was frantically searching for just a wee bit of green I needed to finish off my flying geese. Sucess, while not quite the same the geese are small enough the difference won't be noticeable.

We visited a new shop to us which has been here for about 3 years or so and what a shop "Tangled Threads" in Lynden, WA is. WOW was all I could say as I stood and gawked. This is no ordinary shop with one big room and a table off in a corner for classes. Fabric here is loved. A room full of flannels, a different one for holidays, another for Batiks. You get the picture here. A separate room with a huge table for classes, a staff lounge with big comphy wing chairs to relax in. Antique sewing machines in every room. Clean, tidy and shelves filled with scrumptious fabrics. You can see a lot of thought was gone into the planning. It's not just a shop, it's a quilters heaven.

Last stop for the day, we found the perfect Batik to finish off the rest of the compass. A good days hunting for us.

Yesterday everything went wrong. More time was spent ripping out than I've done in a very long time. PPing gets me all confused. If I put it down for a day, I can't remember how I did it the last time, seniour moments to often lately. Then knicked my finger, another knick to my thumb, more ripping, ran out of fabric, dug through the trash can hoping for scraps big enough and finally called it a night. Somedays nothing goes right and the best thing is to put it down and start over the next day.

Gratitudes

Chinese at our favorite place
The very helpful ladies at the LQS
A call from John tonight
Talking to my cousin on IM
Sunshine after a rainey morning

Flag of our Fathers

Friday I picked up a book with an interesting title and jacket. Little did I know it would keep me cativated all weekend. Every minute I had was spent with this book in my hand. I couldn't put it down. What I thought would be a novel turned into the account of the battle for Iwo Jima and the 6 men who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi. Over the years this photo has signified courage and valour, but to the men who raised it, it was a few moments out of their life and of no importance. They all felt the real hero's were those who died on that island not themselves. We've all seen the famous photo, the memorial in Washington DC with it's inscription "Uncommon Valor, was a Common Virture" but yet we heard nothing of the lives of the 6 young men, 5 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman who are in this photograph.

We've probably all heard "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" or seen the movies portraying the battle for Iwo Jima or studied WWII in our history classes but we've never read about these 6 young men and how being labeled as hero's affected their lives. We've never looked through their eyes and saw the horrors of war or saw how insignificant they thought that few minutes were.

Little did the son of one of the flag raisers know until after his father had died that he had been awarded the Navy Cross for valor above and beyond until he found in his office several boxes of papers relating to that time in his life when he went to war. His father was a very private man, never spoke of his time on Iwo Jima, never felt he was a hero and only lent a hand during the raising of the flag so captured in the famous photograph. After his death, the author spent years interviewing fellow Marines and family of those 5 other men. I feel this book is a tribute not only to those flag raisers but all the Marines who never came back.

I'm not ashamed to say I shed tears as well as chuckled as I was reading this book. So many lives lost to give us our freedom we have today. So much hoopla over a photograph snaped in 1/400th of a sec, a second raising of the flag over Mt Seribachi, a moment that was insignificant in the lives of 6 young men which labeled them hero's not for what they had experienced on Iwo Jima but because they happened to be there at that moment when the photograph was taken.

Iwo Jima was hard fought, hard won, many Marines lost their lives there. In the words of John Bradley, they are the hero's.

Thank You

for all the good wishes for Roscoe. I'm happy to report he's home from the hospital, not needing surgery but on a stool softner and has pooooo'd. Whew, glad that's occured. He's almost back to normal, just have to watch him and make sure that he continues to get rid of that full colon. Ever tried giving 17#'s of squirming, clawing cat liquid medicine? I've got battle scars but I'm wining.



You're all probably getting awfully tired of this compass showing up like every bad penny you wished you never had to see again. vbg Opinions are needed here. I kinda know what I'm doing, not that I do very often but.....does this need a stopper border between the geese and rising compass's and which the mix and match points or the all the same points????? Am I getting to busy here???? In order to keep this from growing and growing, I need to square off from this point. Laid out on my queen bed the corners reach from side to side, top to bottom and GD has a regular dble bed.


Minuture's, teeny scraps and 1.25" HST's are frustration of the highest level. My Hr a Day project got scooped right off the table into a baggie. Life is to short to save teeny scraps, spend the better part of a day and having three 2" blocks accomplished. Realization set in, I don't like working with something that small. I want to be able to see what I'm working on without a magnifying glass or having it right in front of my face. I tried it...am I gone try it again? I don't think so, not in this lifetime anyway. Anybody want them, I'll gladly mail them off to you, most are trimmed, some need it.

Fall has arrived in my corner of the PNW. The trees are turning color, the leaves falling. Time to put the garden to bed, bring in the BBQ and swing cushions. Soon the rains will start bringing dark, gloomy days perfect for curling up in front of a fire with a good book. I hate to see summer come to an end. I love the warm sunny days and dread the cold, gloomy winters.

Gratitudes

Having time to sew everyday.
Having time to read all the Maverick blogs.
John coming home tonight for the weekend.
Good friends on the net

Good and Bad Day

The good part of my day was spent in the sewing room laying out and stitching together the first of the borders. Still have the corners to do later this evening. I'm liking the lighter background for the floating geese more and more. Sets the center compass off rather well. After a sandwich, coffee and break will finish the corners and attach them. A good days progress.







The bad part of my day. Roscoe my loving manx hasn't been doing very well. He had been leaving little deposits on the carpet telling me something was wrong. A trip to the vet a couple weeks ago with treatment for fleas and tape worm didn't help his condition at all. I wish I had requested an Xray instead of just mentioning it then. I noticed a few days ago he hadn't been eating. Called the vet (emergency hospital) early this am and off we went. I knew something was wrong, he just wasn't himself, didn't come for his morning bath, wanted to sit in my lap and he's definetely not a lap cat at all, was becoming lethargic. Blood test taken, Xrays showed an impacted colon full of stool. The treatment so far has been a couple enemas with no results. Surgery to remove the stool may be necessary. I'm worried sick for my furry baby. I think thread or fabric ingested is the culpret.

To all those who wrote about their memories of 9/11 and feelings 5 years after. Thank you for sharing with us all.

My goal for tomorrow
Roscoe proof my sewing room.
Complete another compass.
Finish the HST's on the Hr a Day.

Gratitudes

A day sewing to keep my mind busy.
The Staff at Critical Care who are taking care of Roscoe
John's call from Portland this afternoon.

Back to Work

Vacation time for John is over as I waved goodbye and saw him off to the ship this morning. No more days spent sitting in front of the puter downloading music for me to put on CD's.

I look forward to my time alone, getting up early, sewing all day in my jammies. Not cooking breakfast at noon and dinner at 8pm. Vacation is difficult with everything being put on hold for the 2 months John is home. Nothing gets done but the basics, cleaning goes on holiday, the vac stays in the closet till I can't stand it anymore, and sewing is non existant. Somedays I wish for a 40 hr week with 2 weeks off for good behaviour. VBG.

Today I planned on getting the yard and lot mowed, a shower and evening spent sewing. Not going to happen, after 4 hours pushing the mower around, I want to put my feet up and do nothing.

Tomorrow is another day.....the start of my Vacation Time.

On my Vacation List.....

Deep clean a room a day.
Finish the compass quilt by Sept 25.
Finish Judy's Hr a Day quilt.
Finish Handquilting the embroidered quilt.
Hand quilt the Windmill for next years picnic.
Go through all my clothes and get rid of what I don't wear.
Organize my sewing room yet again.
Catch up on everyone's blogs.

Not a very impressive list of things to do on vacation but time fly's faster than a speeding bullet.

A View from the Deck

Yesterday was a perfect day to spend at the beach with my sister, BIL and friends celebrating her 51st birthday. A day for adults, no children or grandchildren.

She came along late in my parents life. I was 16 the day they brought her home and it became my job to take care of her. When I married and left home she was a year old. My son's arrived and the 3 of them grew up more like sister/brothers than aunt/nephews. The three of them still maintain that closeness to this day. She's my favorite of all 5 of my sisters and more like me than any of them.

Marcie grew up got married and settled right here while I traipsied around the country. Whenever I came "home" for a visit the first place I headed was to her house. Fishing/crabbing with my BIL developed a closeness I don't have with the other BIL's.

When we moved home, they were right there lending a helping hand. I couldn't ask for a better sister and BIL.

Happy Birthday, Marcie, may you have many, many more.

End of Month

Here it is the end of the month and I have yet to get any extended sewing time in. Seems the minute I sit down to either update my blog or stitch DH asks "Are you busy" and I have to stop what I'm doing and tend to some business for him. It's not that I mind but I sure would like it some days if he would gather all his "honey would you's" together so I could do them all at once.

Anyhoo......here is my Hour a Day, not much progress here at all. Most of the itty bitty HST's are trimmed with a bunch more to do. Several more stacks of bits and pieces to stitch into HST's. I wanted to do this challenge, had planned on it after all what's 1 hr a day out of 24, but as with all plans, it just didn't happen. If the HST's are 1.25" how big should I do the sashing???? I will finish this !!!!



Little progress going on here either. I think the border will look good and separate the 4 compass's I will use to square off the center compass. This border will be floating geese on the lighter background. What do y'all think? I'm anxious to get back to working on it.





Last evening as I was trying to update this blog of mine, my sister called to invite us to a "CRAB FEED". Dungeness Crab is the best there is and I tell you I ate until I almost burst. There was salad, chips, dips and corn on the cob which I skipped, couldn't fill up on that while there was all that crab. VBG....DH who doesn't eat crab sat and made fun of me the whole time I was stuffing my face and I didn't care. It was delicious and a fun few hours spent with my sis and bil.

Hour a Day Challenge

Finally a day for stitching. While working on the next border for the compass I realized all those snippets would make HST's needed for Judy's Challenge. I've always wanted to give a miniture quilt a try so these wee 1" HST's will work fine not only for the challenge but for this wee quilt as well. While I NEVER save scraps I just can't throw out all these scraps of batik and hand dyes without some feeling of guilt when they cost so dearly.

I've finished up 32 HST's while assembling the next border for the compass. Does this also make it a leader/ender project? Three birds with one stone. Today, time permiting, I will press, get them sashed and a photo session done.

I'm not sure I am going to like this current border for the compass I am working on. I've gone to a light hand dyed green for the background with the bright batiks to make a floating geese border ala Judy Martin. My deadline to have it ready for the LAer is creeping up so fast and my brain remains in a fog as what to do with it now. If this border doesn't audition pleasing to my eye, it's back to the cutting board and a dark background fabric. I wonder if I should have planned this better.

Gratitudes

The warm days and cool nights without rain.

Days spent with DH.

My friends terrible infection in her face has been healed.

Time for reading Blogs.

Not finding a present on the floor from Roscoe this morning.

Progress is being made verrrrrry slowly on the compass. It seems everyday has something new going on and getting into the sewing room is the least on the list of priorities.

At some point I have to decide what to fill in the center with...another smaller compass or a plain circle????? I haven't decided what comes next, my original plan of a circle of flying geese around the outside of the compass brought my eyes away from the compass. I know I am going to float smaller different compass's in the outer edge but getting them there has me stumped.


Today I babysat for my Sis's grandson while she went to the dentist. What a handful he is, on the go constantly, pushing as far as he could to see what I would do. I have to hand it to her that she takes care of him on a daily basis while his father is working.

In answer to the questions on my last blog which seems forever ago.

Lumpia is like an egg roll stuffed with cabbage/carrots/bean sprouts/shrimp and about anything else you would like to add and is the size of a taquita.

Yes, we raffle a quilt for family members only and proceeds go to help defray some of the expenses to my Sis and BIL who host the picnic at their place each year as well as to purchase fabric for the next years raffle quilt. Where the proceeds went wasn't what the cousin was upset about but a disagreement she and I had.

Shakespeare in the Park.. Angelika...no this is not an original of mine, but another one of Judy Martins spetacular patterns. You can order the book "The Creative Pattern Book" from her site at http://judymartin.com/

Looks like blogger is schedule for an outage at 4 today so best get this posted before it's ate.

Family Picnic

The kids have gone home, another family picnic among the memories filed away this summer to bring out and enjoy during the winter while the rain is falling and snow is promised.

A beautiful day, the sun beamed down on us and the wind stayed calm.

Lots of great food, BBQ'd oysters, salmon, ribs as well as burgers and hotdogs. More salads than you could count, plates and plates of lumpia. For those who don't know what lumpia are, they resemble egg rolls or taquitas and are super tasty. My SIL brings them every year and spends hours in the kitchen frying well over 300 of them up.

Vollyball on the beach with plenty of laughter and even a mooning by the pranksters in the family. Fireworks to watch as we sat around the bon fire toasting up marshmellows for Smoores.

We arrived to find my sister doing a lively ticket sales most of which were to my family. My cousin didn't buy a one and spent the whole day sitting on the deck with her sister and some of their kids. When I went to snap a picture as I keep an album of each years picnic she turned her back on me. Toooo bad she chose to be so childish. We all had a great time.

My DH brought out his "fart machine" and would set it down behind this or that person. Everyone wanted to have their turn and chose their victims.....I laughed till I cried.

As the day wound down and the sun began to lower in the sky my mom drew the winning ticket.


And the winner is..........
My brother Rick and his wife. While this wasn't the original raffle quilt it worked out quite nicely as they had just redecorated their bedroom in a blue theme.

Blogger isn't being nice to me today and wanted to eat all my pictures. I'll share some of my family with you later.

Busy Day

This morning after coffee I got a bug and did busy work stuff that really needs doing but something I put off until I absolutely have to get it done. I'm good at procrastinating and waiting till the last moment.

Before it got sunny, I weeded my little garden and found there's not much of a garden there. The slugs have been busy chewing every little leaf off my beans so I now have stems where beans should be. The weeds were higher than the short rows of corn which was no where near knee high by the 4th of July. Can remember my DAD saying that very thing. My tomatoes are scraggly and if they actually produce anything I will be surprized. The potatoes have come up on their own and seem to be doing the best of anything. I'm not much of a garden person this year.

After the weeds went to their demise, I washed both my truck and car, then straightened and swept out the garage. Bye the time I finished those chores it was time to head over towards my sisters. A stop at both Home Depot and Walmart to do returns and I was on my way.

A bit of chatting and then it was time to load the plan B quilt for our raffle on her handiquilter. I felt like an extra shoe just standing around while both my sis and niece did the actual quilting. 5 hours later it was done and only needing a binding which I will do tomorrow evening.

Gratitudes

That I am developing a better relationship with this sister.

The closeness I've developed via the net with my GD.

Age has given me wisdom, patience and understanding.

Comments

Quiltpixie....The hexagon is my temporary wall (it excapes me at the moment), a table topper I'm using to see how the compass is looking to the eye. It's a thought, hmmm a hexagon instead of the usual circle.

KCquilter....The pattern for the quilt in my June 26 blog is "Shakespeare in the Park" one of Judy Martins spetacular designs. It was in the QNM some time ago and I have it around here somewhere. Give me a couple weeks and I'll look for it for you. You're welcome to the magazine or if you want the book you can order it on her website www.judymartin.com It's basically just two blocks....snails trail and Virginia Reel (?) seniour moment here.




I spent today with the compass, playing with this next round. Started out with an orange point (lower left) and decided I didin't really like how it looked with the green points. Another green and I like this effect much better, more subtle and doesn't take away from the main compass points. Drats....I ran out of the fabric I was using in the current round...geeeze I should have known 1FQ wasn't going to do it. I'm also noticing some of the points in the outer ring aren't'showing up on the photo in the dark fabric while they do show in the real life mode. I think I'm going to be froggy stitching a lot on this one...those points will have to be changed to brighter colors and this is paper piecing. AAAAAck.

A LOL....my cousin finally showed up with the raffle quilt she was to put a 7" applique border (2 birds per side, a few flowers, a vine and some leaves) on with her two sisters 7 months ago. Hmmmm.....we have a alternate in the wings, the reunion is next Saturday, what did she think...I could hand quilt this in 7 days. not to mention adding the final borders......Super quilter I am not..My sister said it turned out rather nice and kinda pretty but needs handquilted so guess what I get to do this winter.

Gratitudes

Another day spent sewing.

Ice cold Beer on a hot day.

Listening to the birds sing.

Not finding kitty presents on the carpet.

I've finally gone and done it, started the Mariner's Compass. It felt good to get back to the machine again after such a long dry spell.

I know I should have grabbed the pattern I drafted, picked my colors and colored them in, but here I am once again choosing from the batiks specially purchased for this quilt without a plan of any sort. So far I like what's happening. My compass will have 8 points instead of the 7 in the photo and end up with 64 total. I haven't made up my mind what I will do with the center, maybe another smaller compass or ?????

It's been a busy time since I last updated my blog. My kids will be here in another 5 days and John will get off the ship for his vacation next Thursday. The house is ready, the shopping almost done. Snacks and things for GGD. Just last minute things to do, mow the lawn, and set up the studio bed.

I spent the 4th with my Sis and Bil. Had a great time hanging out with them, lots of good BBQ and the most spetacular fireworks display. They live out on a spit so have the bay on one side and the shipping lanes on the other side of their home. As it started to get dark we built a huge bon fire and all up and down the beach people were setting off fireworks. We could look across the bay at town for those and somebody towed a barge out on the beach side for their display. When I left after midnight fireworks were still blazing in the sky. A good day inspite of getting to close to that bon fire and catching my shoe on fire.

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's "Gratitudes" and think it's such a good idea to post them with each update.

Gratitudes

Seeing a fawn in the backyard again this morning.

A day spent with my sister and Bil.

Time spent in the sewing room today.

Catching on fire and only burning up a tenny instead of me.

A phone call tonight from John.

My new lawn swing where I can spend hours reading.

View from the Deck

Seeing mama deer with her little fawn brought me right out of the blue funk my morning was turning into after finding yet another present one of the Cats had left me on the carpet.

My day was fast going to the toilet, my fuse short, but when I saw Mama and baby, I ran to the fridge, cut up an apple, grabbed the camera and out to the deck I went. My mood instantly disappeared and the whole day looked brighter.

Wedding and the Quilt

The bride was beautiful, the groom nervous, the attendants wore flip flops. This was without a doubt the strangest wedding I've ever attended. Maybe the younger generation or the fact the wedding was held in a park beside the Sacramento River had something to do with it.

DH and I arrived a good hour before the ceremony to find my son, the father of the groom holding down the fort watching over the area. We chatted while wedding guests arrived in very cool casual apparel, not what I would have expected for a wedding. Shorts, jeans, flip flops you name it. I dressed as my generation would. By the time it hit a good 95 degrees, I finally trotted over to the car, stripped off my nylons and got comfortable. Nobody introduced either my DH or me to any of the brides family or other guests. I felt like a tourist at my grandsons wedding. The only people I knew were my EX, his wife, his father, his sister and his neice.

After the ceremony the photographer had the whole wedding party/family sans me or my DH running all over the park taking pictures for the better part of 2 hours, leaving me trying to catch a few for myself. We finally left and headed back to the motel and pool.




My eldest son Jerry and his family.












My 3 Grandsons and Me. Kody is 6'7" and his mom cut the top of his head off the picture. Fine boys.







Mike, father of the groom and my GGD Reese one of three flower girls. And yes that is a Mohawk haircut per the Brides request.

The quilt is almost finished, just 3 sides to stitch down the binding. The LAer called the day I got back from the wedding to tell me it was finished.

Close up of quilting pattern. I had it quilted in a varagated blue thread.

My GD will be here mid July for our family picnic and will take it back to her brother and SIL.

It's been a week since I got back home and I still feel insulted. Would you believe my DIL called "thank you for coming to my son's wedding, I appreciated it" as if I were just another guest on the list and not his grandmother. Yes it was the bride and groom's day but there's no excuse for lack of courtesy on the part of my Son and DIL and I let them know how my feelings were hurt.

No stitching here

I've not been stitching since the wedding quilt went to the LAer. Been too busy trying to control the yard and lot. I spent 7 hours on Sunday manning the weed eater and lawn mower. Why anybody would want an electric mower to trip over the cord constantly is beyond me...but....DH decided we ... did he really mean we as he very seldom is ever home when the grass is butt high and needing to be mowed, but electric mower we got and I cuss it out everytime the grass needs mowing. To my way of thinking a goat woud be a better investment. The grass is down, the lawn and lot looks good. Also grabbed up a paint brush and coated the propane surround a lovely shade of green. One less "honey do" project for his time off the ship. I've got a 5' rattan giraffe sitting by the garage to park in the lot. It will be a fun piece with a trailing plant. My friend got tired of it sitting on her deck so it moved over here. I wonder what my deer friends will think of it. Will they see it as a funny looking deer or...."VBG".

Tomorrow is laundry day getting all my hot weather duds ready for my trip to Redding CA for GS's wedding. I'm getting anxious and wanting to leave. Why is it we plan for a trip and the last few days take weeks to pass? I'm so looking forward to seeing my two eldest sons, their families and my precious GGD.

The wedding will be held outdoors in the park and I finally after much aggitation now have something to wear. I shopped till I almost dropped and managed to get myself in a very bad mood not finding a thing to wear. Everything in the stores, from Macy's to Walmart have something funky for the teeny boppers or something for the very, very aged. Not to be insulting here, but I'm just not ready for either of those age groups and where the heck are the inbetween clothing. My good friend came to the rescue with a long linen skirt she was never able to wear, too big and too long which fits me fine. A purchase of tank top, a pair of sandles and I'm now ready to appear in something other than my favorite Levis and T-shirt. And yes, I really would have dressed that casual. I'm not the ruffles and fluff type person and feel so uncomfortable in something other than my favorite pair of levis and a t-shirt.

The Kats willl be in good hands while I'm gone. My friend has been coming over every morning to give Lady her insulin shot, she feels comfortable with it as I feel comfortable leaving Lady in her care. The Vet has been notified should any problem arise my friend can take her in. I'm monitoring her Blood Sugar like a good mom should to make sure her levels remain good while my friend gives her injection.

When I return it's time to start on the Mariners Compass for GD's wedding come fall time. I want to hand quilt this one so an early start is in order.

Each morning as I wake to the birds singing I am grateful

I have another day on this here earth.
For my dear friend Rexene, who came to my rescue yet again.
For each time I look out at my back yard habitat and see yet another new bird
For the deer who frequent my yard looking for handouts.
For my 91 year old MOM's continued good heath.
For my DH who treats me like a queen and has always been the sun in my sky.
For all my friends here at Mavericks.
.

Happy Birthday Reese

I can't believe my GGD is 6 years old already. It seems like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms, a teeny tiny little bundle of joy.

Family

When I moved back to my home town after being gone for 30 years where the wind blew me, I thought my cousin was my best friend, like a sister as well as family. We were close to the same age and had a history of sorts. I thought I could confide in her during all the ups and downs in my life which were many. I no longer thought of the things she'd done to me in the past, they were old business, nothing to linger over, what was done was done. We shopped, had lunch, spent hours at each others homes. I dropped everything and was at her side the night her husband passed away. I gave comfort, support and let her know I would be there if she needed me. We were family. When her brother passed away three months later I was there. She was mean to me and her sister-in-law but I chalked it up to loss of her brother.

I've learned a lesson during these past 6 months. While my cousin is family she certainly isn't my friend or sister and anything I confided to her in the years since I've been home has been gossiped around. I've heard she's "always hated me". For what I don't know, I've never said a bad thing about her other than she gets more like her mother everyday. Her mother, my Auntie, my Mom's sister wasn't a very nice person. Maybe she recognizes herself.

I have 6 siblings, 5 sisters and 2 brothers. We all don't get along all the time. This is normal for a family this size. We have our ups and downs. This family reunion and raffle quilt has changed how I think about my siblings. During all this upheaval over this quilt I have come to realize, my cousin while she might be family isn't my friend or my sister. My sisters will stand beside me, present a united front and know me for who I am. They will be there if I need them, all I have to do is call.

In all my years of traveling, I never thought much about family. I traveled the road that took us from here to there always on my own agenda. When my Dad passed away, home was forgotten. I came home for the occasional wedding, funeral or vacation. Home wasn't on my horizon, home was where I happened to be. I've grown up, gotten older and have realized that home is everything for without family what are we. Family is everything.

Hide and Seek

Going through some pictures the other day for DH, I found this one of a challenge small quilt I had made. The requirments didn't seem difficult at first thought until I wondered what I could do with shades of black and white that had to be 75% of the small quilt we were to make. Only one other color could be used. Hiding in the far corner of my sewing room was one of those "What was I thinking" pieces of fabric. A mother board in shades of black and white. With toungue in cheek, I marked it, added some bright green eyes, black nose and started quilting. On the day it was to be turned in, I handed it over knowing it wouldn't be received very well. It was different, not a block or applique to be seen, just those two bright green eyes, black nose, quilting and questions of what's it supposed to be. Much to my amazement a friend wanted it and asked to trade her entry for it. I did and she later told me she promptly hung it in her hallway and everytime she passed the kitty she could feel those eyes. This challenge was something for me to play with and I had fun doing it.

What a great time I had with you all catching up on everyone's blogs for the month of May, traveling to places I'll never go in a lifetime, visiting beautiful backyards, spending time with you at quilt shows, classes and quilt market. Going to graduations, birthday parties. and family doings. Seeing all your beautiful, gorgeous quilts, new as well as antique.

Lauri Ann in answer to your question. "Shakespeare in the Park" is the name of the pattern and it's from "The Creative Pattern Book" by Judy Martin http://www.judymartin.com

Finally Finished

Shakespeare is finally finished and at the LAer for quilting. Much to my disappointment she's booked up and won't be able to have it finished until the end of June, 2 weeks after the wedding. I'll print a picture to include in their wedding card along with a small gift from their registry. They won't mind as Redding, CA in the summer is too hot for a quilt on the bed anyway. The picture isn't very good as my holders were both barely 5 ft tall and standing up on the picnic table didn't help at all. I'm pleased with how it turned out with all the blues and greens. The backing I chose is a light turquoise with white and will be quilted with a light variegated blue.


I've ordered Judy Mathieson's newest Mariner's Compass book for my Granddaughters wedding quilt due in October. I had planned on doing another Shakespeare for her and asked her if she wanted the same pattern or something different. She said "something different and please pick it out". Both of them like the water and her fiancee' has a sailboat so I think a Mariner's Compass will be appropriate for them. Another challege as I've never attempted a Mariner's Compass and want to design something special for them.

I've been busy this past couple weeks between rain showers re-doing my deck and patio furniture. Have sanded and stained the picnic table/benches and am working on sanding down the deck for staining and am getting ready to dig up the back lawn to replace with patio stones as I'm so tired of mowing the grass full of moss. It's going to be a busy spring and summer of yard work as I've let it go to many years in a row.

My sister came out and helped me paint our den a week ago. What a difference it has made to the room, so clean and fresh looking with all the clutter off the walls and out of there. Even DH was pleased with the results. I've kept one of my Mom's paintings and the rest will go to my kids and gkids as they have all asked her for one. The antique china doll I found at my MIL's I gifted to my GF's mom who collects them. DH wasn't interested in keeping it and I saw no reason to pass it on to my children. She was pleased as punch with it as it had all it's original clothing intact. Sometimes it just feels good to give pleasure to someone you care about.

Good news for Lady, my kitty. Friday she goes in for a blood test to see what her sugar has been doing. I recently purchased a monitor so I could keep up with her BS's. With the Vet's help I have been decreasing her insulin and her diabetes seems to be in remission as her tests remain the same while I've been decreasing the amount of insulin I give her. My good friend has been coming over in the morning to do her shot so I will be able to go out of town and not have to board her at the Vet's. A very special friend indeed.

Happy Mother's Day

59 Stars "N" Trails

and growing. I've been working in my yard and the lot so haven't been stitching the past couple weeks. Was good to get back to the machine and finish 15 of the remaining 17 blocks today. The temporary wall got to small to hang all these blocks and my living room floor space can't quite hold them either. I've not set it in stone as each time I lay it out I tweek it a bit more. I'm finally seeing some light at the end of this long tunnel. Tomorrow I can finish the last two big blocks, lay them out for the last time and stitch rows together. I'm thankful my Grandson lives in CA where it is HOT during the summer as it's going to take some time to hand quilt this monster. Thank you everyone for all the lovely comments.



I no sooner picked up all the blocks, went for a cold drink when "Lady" claimed them for herself and settled in for a snooze. LOL


I learned a valuable lesson this past week. If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it. Last summer I decided the tension on my machine needed a good cleaning. Armed with directions I disasembled it down to nuts and bolts. Getting it back together wasn't easy and I could never get it adjusted properly so fought with it being either too loose or two tight....puckers in everything I stitched. Nothing I tried worked and finally last week called my OSMG to rescue me and the SM. After an hour of working, he packed it up and off he went. Three days later, he returned, machine under his arm all repaired, serviced and shining, installed it back in it's cabinet, sat me down and what a difference. Stitching is again pleasureable. My SM is a seniour citizen, a Chevy to the Cadillac's of today, a trusy old workhorse that will last a lifetime if taken care of properly. Don, my OSMG is a delight, he's 80 if he's a day, was a pilot during WWII. Retired after owning a Singer shop for 50 years and built a 800 sq ft shop to house the remenants of his business as well as 50+ antique SM's. He does house calls and if he can repair your machine without taking it back to the shop he does. His fee's are reasonable, lives down the street from me, does pick up and delivery for free. I hope he never retires.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Sunday. Hope your holiday was spent enjoying your family get togethers. Mine was spent working on these goofy stars and trails.
I finally rigged up a temporary design wall. Setting these blocks diagonally is way beyond my comfort zone. I'm used to straight up and down sets. Diagonal has taxed my brain each time I lay them down. Trying to figure a CA king from a twin size has been one big fat challenge. Should I make it 6 down, 6 across or ????? My cheat book says to do 5 and 5 with a 12" border to make 110 x 110. I don't need a border. What to do? What to do? How big is a CA King anyway?

I've been pulling the fabrics willy nilly out of the bin and am coming up with some pretty strange looking combinations. The over all effect isn't bad but it sure is scrappy. I hope my Grandson and his Fiance like it as much as his sister does. It's been so satisfying to get back at the machine and stitch away while listening to Toby Keith. It's been awhile.

John was to come home for a three day weekend. He hasn't been home in two weeks and now I don't know when I'll see him. He might be gone a week or three. He called saying the ship had to get underway. The under ocean telephone cable had a break somewhere down off the coast of Oregon. His ship had to go fish it out, repair or replace it, I don't know which but I'm alone this holiday weekend. A good time to stitch and catch up on the blogs. While I don't comment too often, I do read them daily.

Many thanks for all the suggestions of what to do with the Windmill Quilt. While I would love to pull it apart and redo that center, fabric paint the sky or even embelish it some, I'm afraid I would hurt my sister's feelings beyond thinking as she is very sensitive, doesn't like confrontations and cries easily. I'm sure my cousin ran right over her with her suggestions.

Grumble, Grumble

The other day since I had to drive right by my cousins to go to FedEx, I stopped by to see the progress on the family raffle quilt. The center had been finished and passed on to the cousins to add the applique border.



WHEW, what did they do to create this awful monstrosity. What started out as a pretty neat center medallion of a windmill against a field of green has now become a space capsule sitting on a field of stained glass. The Windmill fades into the sky, that sickening stained glass effect....my 5 yo GGD could have done better. What was my cousin who took it upon herself to decide a pale cheezy blue sky would look better with that horrible stained glass effect thinking? The green background was too dark, it wouldn't look good is what I heard. What I saw was a contestant for the Ugly Quilt Contest not a traditional quilt the family would cherish. I guess my cousin was coloring outside her lines. Maverick, I doubt it, ugly for sure. I'm a snob, I admit it, but would you as a traditional type want this one on your bed or hanging on your wall? I don't think so. For a family who's tastes run to GFG's, Log Cabins and co-ordinated fabrics, this one won't be getting any blue ribbons. I rue the day I said I would handquilt it...what's a person to do at this stage of the game? Mom offered to help with the applique, my cousin doesn't want her to touch it. She's old, her stitches aren't satisfactory. I agree, she's 91, she's almost blind, but that's not the point, it's a family project. The nieces, nephews, grandkids want a piece of something she's put her hand to and stitched. She's Mom, Gramma, Auntie and Great Auntie. She's the only one left and when she goes, there goes that generation of family. This yearly quilt isn't about my cousin. It's all about family, a generation at the end of her life. It's about my MOM and how loved she is. It's about passing on a heirloom, a time to look back on and take pause for reflection as we remember those family picnics and realize that we are now MOM. I doubt anyone will want to save and cherish this one as a family heirloom to be passed on to the generations to come.